


technically (this is reality)

by bitsori



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Male Friendship, Non-Linear Narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 02:09:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19938391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: So.Brian already has a best friend, and it isn't Jae, but that doesn't mean Jae isn't important to him, because he is.





	technically (this is reality)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [we’re only liars, but we’re the best](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19864261) by [elliebell (Naladot)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naladot/pseuds/elliebell). 



> [ 1 ] idk what this is, but ellie convinced me to do reaction fic to [we’re only liars, but we’re the best](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19864261), which is amazing bc despite the short length it was like a punch in the gut. tried my hand at this bc i'm probably more a brian than a jae in my friendships. anyway, better read that first for the full effect (and also for more context).

  
  
  
  


“I don’t get you,” Brian tells Jae, and he doesn’t mean for the judgment in his tone to be audible, but he’s exhausted and he’s unable to stop the slip from happening. It’s been a long night, and he’s pissed off at the decisions that Jae has made so he gives himself a pass.

He notices the way Jae bristles though, and he feels bad.

But he feels more tired than bad, so when Jae shoots back, “Never said you had to,” he doesn’t have it in him to counter.

_ Okay, _ he thinks. 

He really doesn’t have to, so he turns on his heel and heads back to his own room without another word.

  
  
  
  


There was a time when Jae and Brian did everything together. It’s not as if either of them deliberately orchestrated for things to happen that way – it just happened. They were roommates, and Jae oftentimes needed Brian’s help in articulating himself in Korean, so most of the time they just fell together in natural companionship.

Brian didn’t even really realise that they were regularly attached at the hip until everyone started going to him to ask where Jae was.

“Why would I know?” He’d answer, always laughing, because it was amusing more than anything else. They’d gone from two people who couldn’t stand each other, to a pair that others naturally associated with each other. “I’m not his keeper.”

It was even funnier after he came home one day after a long and tiring day at school, and Jae asked him, “Yo man, where have you been, my phone was blowing up with people asking where in the world you’re at?”

His first thought should probably have been  _ shit, _ because he completely forgot that he forgot to cancel some appointments at the agency that day after he had to rush a last minute project with some university groupmates, but instead he’d  _ laughed  _ because how funny was that? People were expecting Jae to know his whereabouts, the same way people expected him to know about Jae’s 24/7 status.

“I hope you told them you’re not my mom, and that I don’t report to you at any given time of the day.”

“Dude,  _ your mom  _ doesn’t know where you are at any given time of day.”

“Not the point!”

“Whatever, bro. We’re Jaehyungparkian, baby, people have  _ expectations!” _

He was joking, and it almost made Brian roll his eyes (especially at that ridiculous portmanteau of their names), but all he mustered was half a snort.

“You’re gross, hyung.”

“Birds of a feather, Bri,” Jae clapped back, and then both of them were laughing because their banter was easy and natural like that.

  
  
  
  


Brian doesn’t know when things changed.

He’d say he doesn’t know where things went wrong, but technically nothing was actually  _ wrong. _ They’re still Brian and Jae, they’re still friends and bandmates, and they still get along pretty well. They make music together, and when they’re on tour and they room together, they still have late night talks that go on until one of them (Brian, usually) fall asleep midway through the conversation.

But something is different. He doesn’t know what it is, but he’s sure it’s not him.

So if it’s not him, then surely it’s coming from Jae. 

Still, Jae isn’t someone he has the luxury of letting go, so Brian keeps trying.

But then he realises that he also doesn’t remember what it is that he and Jae used to do together that would constitute as something that’s  _ theirs. _ He doubts that coffee runs that weren’t really coffee runs because Jae seldom ordered anything with caffeine really counted. Claiming nights of playing basketball with other friends like Bernard doesn’t feel right either, considering Brian always quits the game halfway through, choosing instead to cheer them on in a half-assed manner – Jae was always more athletic than he ever was, anyway.

A passion for making music and the ability to switch between two languages – when it comes down to it, these are the only things they truly have in common. It’s enough, most days, but most days is still not always and that’s where the problem lies.

So Brian invites Jae to a party.

It isn’t a purely altruistic invitation. It’s a networking event, and Brian’s English has always flowed more naturally with Jae around, so there’s  _ that. _ Maybe Brian is partly an asshole for that, but the intent to make things right and easy again with Jae is there, and he tells himself that’s what’s important. He isn’t going to lose sleep over any of it.

And then Jae disappears halfway through the thing, without a word – just ups and leaves, doesn’t even leave a note or message with anyone – and something snaps inside Brian.

He supposes that Jae wants Brian to go running after him, wants Brian to sit him down and ask what’s wrong, wants Brian to quietly make the first move like he’s been prone to doing all these years, and Brian decides that he’s tired.

There’s only so much he can do to keep pushing the friendship forward.

  
  
  
  


An Iced Americano and two breakfast sandwiches shouldn’t be enough of a peace offering, but somehow it is. 

At least for now.

  
  
  
  


“Yeah,” Jae tells the interviewer through the phone line. “Best friends.”

“We all get along really well,” Brian chimes in, agreeing with Jae’s easy declaration, his eyes doing a quick go around, spending a couple of seconds on each member until they land right back on Jae, who blinks at him, before shaking his head and joining him in silent laughter.

Technically, none of them are his  _ best _ friends. A best friend is the person you feel closest to, the person you trust with your life – someone who feels  _ yours _ no matter the time and distance that separates you.

But he supposes that 'best friend’ is also a phrase easily thrown around by the youth these days that there really isn’t any harm in claiming that all the members are best friends.

Camaraderie is a part of the package they’re selling anyway.

  
  
  
  


“Hyung, you know I love you, right?”

A week has passed, and their little fight has pretty much been forgotten. They’ve fallen back into their normal rapport – their new normal anyway, not the old normal where they were thick as thieves, and everyone just assumed they did everything together.

They’re in the studio, just the two of them because the others went to see a movie and got stuck in traffic on the way back. 

Jae turns to him, and there’s a flash of confusion that’s briefly reflected in his eyes. And then he chortles, as if he’s making light of Brian’s words.

“Is this the part where I swoon over your love confession?” Jae asks, still chuckling.

“I mean, if that’s what you want to do, hyung, I’m not stopping you,” Brian snorts, fingers idly plucking at the strings of the guitar he’s cradling in his arms.

“Not much of a swooner, sorry to disappoint you,” Jae answers. 

There’s a pause, a moment of absolute silence despite the air in the studio being thick with tension.

And then,

“But I love you too, bro.”

  
  
  


It’s no secret that Brian could not stand Jae when they first met – in fact, dramatic as it is, it wouldn't have been an understatement to say that he hated the guy.

But they were young, and they’ve grown past it. 

Brian has  _ definitely  _ grown past it, and now it would be an understatement to simply refer to Jae as a friend. He’s a  _ close _ friend, a  _ good _ friend. He isn't a  _ best _ friend – Brian has long ago exchanged metaphorical (and okay, admittedly, literal too) best bud bracelets with Terry, and theirs is a friendship that doesn't deteriorate or chip away just because of a little distance.

So. 

Brian already has a best friend, and it isn't Jae, but that doesn't mean Jae isn't important to him, because he is.

//

**Author's Note:**

> [ 2 ] your feedback is always greatly appreciated! also: [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho).


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